The Casket of Death
by Cynical Classicist
Summary: 19th in a series and sequel to The Mind of the Doctor and Beginning of War. The Doctor and Norine land on a planet where the Petrans and Daleks are both searching for a weapon which they hope will enable them to destroy the other.


The Casket of Death

In a triple-star system was two worlds. One was a giant of gas, incapable of supporting any life like humans. But the other was a lush and fertile world, a world which was of great interest to terrible space powers. As it spun through the stars a fleet of spaceships moved towards the world. But unnoticed to them other ships were descending towards the planet.

The TARDIS again materialised, within sight of a large forest. The Doctor and Norine walked out. "Quite sure that the War-Feeder is out?" said Norine. "No more attempts for him to gain form?" "Like I said he'll still be around, but hopefully it will be many years before we meet again" said the Doctor. He smiled. "But now we're on a new planet! Lots to explore!" He looked at the forest. "There can be a lot of exciting stuff hidden in forests. Come along Clarke" he said cheerily, running to the forest followed by Norine.

As they got to the forest the Doctor suddenly stopped and spun round, Norine nearly running into him. "What was that?" asked Norine. "There's something here" said the Doctor, spinning again. "Something watching us!" Norine looked around. "It's a forest. There's always something watching us." There was a buzz nearby and they heard a rustling in a large bush with green flowers. The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the area and pressed the button. A few glittering insects flew out, followed by a red frog-like creature the size of a hand. "That was probably it" said Norine. "And I'm sure we can fight them off!" She grabbed a branch and pulled at it, finally falling over as it broke. The Doctor smiled. "I'm sure we can" he said straightening his bow tie.

"Stand still!" said a voice next to them. The Doctor wheeled round and saw 3 tall women pointing weapons at them. A look of amazement, then realisation dawned on his face. "What are those?" said Norine raising the branch. "We are the Petrans" said the Petran at the front. "I know" said the Doctor. "You've met them before?" said Norine. "Some years ago" said the Doctor. "Scan them" said the Lead Petran. The Petran to her right took out a small device with a satellite on, and ran a red light from the device over the time travellers. "One human and one…Time Lord!" she said. "A Time Lord? Are you the Doctor?" said the Lead Petran. "Yes" said the Doctor menacingly. "I am the Doctor." "This is excellent news!" said the Lead Petran. "Take them to Captain Troma!"

They were marched to a ship at gun-point for a few minutes. Every time the Doctor tried to say something the Lead Petran would bark a "Quiet!" They finally got to the ship. "I suppose we should go in" said the Doctor, walking into the ship. Norine glanced behind her at the Lead Petran, who gestured at her with the gun. She walked inside cautiously. Inside was an advanced array of machinery, managed by a variety of Petrans. At the front a Petran wearing a red uniform was sitting in front of a large screen which showed a variety of areas. She had just turned as the Doctor entered. "Who are these?" she said. "This being is human. The other one is the Time Lord known as the Doctor" said the Lead Petran. "Captain Troma I presume!" said the Doctor running forward. "The Time Lord" said Troma. She regarded the Doctor with a mix of superiority and fear. "So, why do you want me?" said the Doctor. "We want you to help us" said Troma. "Against the Daleks!"

"The Daleks?" said the Doctor. "What do they have to do with this?" "We have taken up habitation in the Picrogu Galaxy" said Troma. "All we desired was to live in peace. But then the Daleks attacked. They seek to conquer the whole Galaxy!" "Do you have the record of our last meeting?" said the Doctor curiously. "We know you were responsible for the failed invasion of Gallifrey" said Troma. "But that was centuries ago. We have changed since then." The Doctor looked around the ship. "So" he said, clapping his hands together "…why are you here?" "10 Dalek ships were deployed towards this system" said Troma. "There are stories in the records of the surrounding worlds of an incredibly advanced civilisation existing on this world, Picralt-2, many centuries ago. They were said to have created a weapon of immense power, something that could destroy an entire race. If there is something like that we must get it before the Daleks do."

Less than five kilometres from where the Petran ship laid a small Dalek ship landed, too small to be detected, just as the Petrans had sent one ship. From the ship came a small force of 20 Daleks. Inside the Platoon Commander communicated with a Strategist. "We have landed! Sections 1 and 2 are being deployed!" it said. "We will take the Casket of Death!" said the Strategist. "Remain in constant contact with them! Do not make the Petrans aware of our presence!" "I obey!" said the Platoon Commander. "The Petrans will be exterminated! We will conquer the Picrogu Galaxy!" said the Strategist.

"I will personally lead the exhibition" said Troma. "You will remain here Doctor." "I can't remain here!" said the Doctor. "I need to see what this device is. If the Daleks are here I need to fight them! And I have a lot of experience with fighting them." Troma thought about this for a moment. "Agreeable Doctor." "What exactly am I going to do while you're away?" asked Norine. "I'd like to look at this world rather than see the inside of a small ship." "These Daleks are dangerous…" began Troma. "I've met them" said Norine. "And it's not like I haven't met dangerous things before. War-Feeder, Amplusunguis…" "You can come!" said the Doctor. Troma looked uneasy, but didn't object. They walked out of the ship with another 8 Petrans.

The Daleks continued to glide along towards the forest. They had split into two groups. They had detected a slight energy source in the forest, but had been unable to find the exact location. However they hoped that by moving through the forest they could find where the weapon was hidden.

The Petrans, the Doctor, and Norine walked through the forest. "So, where do we go from here?" said Norine. "We have a faint trace" said Troma. "Perhaps you can help us Doctor?" The Doctor scanned the area with his sonic screwdriver and held it up to look at it. "Aha!" he said. "There should be something…" He did a 270-degree spin. "…That way!" he said, pointing to his left. "We will try that way first" said Troma. They began to walk through a forest, hearing screeches and chatter around them. There was a sudden roar and a reptilian creature which had been sitting among the branches leapt down in front of them. From head to tail it was over three metres, a pale green colour with a beak and two claws over two foot long on each of its four legs. The tail swished about as the creature reared up and gave a chattering roar, its forked tongue flicking out like a flame. "Fire!" cried Troma. The other Petrans began to fire, but the creature resisted the first sally of blasts, moving forward with frightening speed. "Stay as we retreat!" said Troma to another Petran. The group began to move back as the monster got to the Petran and stood on its hind legs. It's claw slashed out, striking the chest of the Petran and bringing it down. But at the close range several blasts had torn through the monster's skin. It staggered but remained standing as its blood poured it. "Doctor…" began Norine, but another shot rang out, bringing the creature down. The Doctor and Norine looked at Troma, who had fired the shot.

"We must proceed. This is evidently a dangerous area" said the Captain. "But what about here?" said Norine, pointing to the downed Petran. The Doctor ran over and examined her, lifting her arm. "There's venom in her" he said. "She's in a coma. We might be able to revive her…" "We don't have time" said Troma coldly. "But we can still save…" Troma pointed her gun at the wounded Petran and shot her through the head. "What…What did you do?" said the Doctor. "We were putting her out of this state" said Troma. "She would have slowed us down." "The end justifies the means" said Norine. "You just kill someone…" "Petrans work for the greater good of the Petran race" said Troma. "If we had left her she would have died slower." "You can't…" began the Doctor, but Troma pointed her gun at him. "I am in command here Doctor. Now we will continue." They left the area, the Doctor and Norine with reluctance.

A few minutes after they had left the area Daleks moved towards the two bodies. "Scan the Petran!" said the Commander to the Dalek behind it. "I obey!" said the Dalek. It scanned the body. "Petran dead from energy discharge at head, though there are traces of venom!" said the Dalek. "Scan the other creature!" said the Commander. The Dalek obeyed. "It's venom matches that in the Petran!" "How long since the death of the Petran?" said the Commander. "Less than 400 rels!" said the Dalek. "The Petrans must be close. Scan surrounding area! The Petrans will be found and exterminated!" said the Commander.

As they moved on through the forest Troma turned to the Doctor again. "Make sure we are going the right way." "Why exactly should I?" said the Doctor. "We're fighting against the Daleks!" said Troma. "Fighting against the Daleks doesn't always make you good" said the Doctor. "The Daleks have a lot of enemies. Cybermen, Time Lords, other Daleks made from humans, humans…But they aren't the good guys always." "Very well" said Troma. She gave two huge strides towards the Doctor and seized his arm painfully. "You will perform this action because we want to" said Troma. "You haven't changed" said the Doctor. "Still acting true to the plans of Redglove. Conquer all you can!" "Just like the Daleks then!" said Norine. Troma threw the Doctor down and moved over. Norine grabbed a branch from the ground but Troma snatched it from her with ease and hurled it away. "Stop!" said the Doctor. He took out his sonic screwdriver. "I'll help you!" He began using the sonic screwdriver again and after a few seconds pointed ahead to his right. "Lead us there" said Troma. "Or both of you will be neutralised!

After another minute of walking the Doctor stopped. "Well, here it is!" he said. Ahead of them was a bunker, about three and a half metres high, and covered in bushes. Troma walked forward and came to the door. She reached out towards it then stopped. "You!" She pointed at one of the Petrans and gestured forward. "Test the door!" The Petran obediently moved forward and touched the door. There was a flashing and strange symbols appeared on the door. Troma turned to the Doctor. "Open this!"

The Doctor scanned the door. "Deadlock sealed, made of a powerful material, not even a nuclear bomb could crack this door!" He touched the symbols and laughed as he looked at them. "I think I recognise them! I saw these in an archaeological dig! These are millennia old!" "Less talking" said Troma. "We must open this before the Daleks!" The Doctor touched a symbol and pulled it towards another symbol. "So that's like a key" said Norine. The Doctor continued to work on the door, pulling more symbols together. After doing this four times the symbols disappeared. "This should let us in!" said the Doctor. "I hope so Doctor" said Troma. The Doctor was right, the door sliding away.

He began to move inside, followed by Troma. Inside was a very dusty room, with ruined equipment lying around. But the main item in the room was a metal box, one metre high, two metres long, and one and a half metres wide, with similar symbols on and an array of switches. "What does it do?" said Norine. "Yes Doctor. How does it spread death?" asked Troma. The Doctor examined the symbols. "And don't lie" said Troma. The Doctor sighed. "I might as well tell. This is a specialised Genocide Machine. It sends out an energy wave that targets the DNA of a species and destroys it. The wave could spread over this entire planet in a second, and can't be stopped!" "So how is it activated?" said Troma. "Well you just put the specimen of the species you want annihilated here" said the Doctor, pointing to a small protrusion on the side. "You activate it. Then you send out the wave. But when it has been programmed to target the DNA it will only annihilate that species. Any attempt to open the device, and it will self-destruct." "So why did this people leave something like this lying around?" said Norine. "Do they like creating death machines?" "Seems this was nearly finished" said the Doctor. "Maybe they were at war and their enemies finished their version of this device before them." "Place the anti-gravity device on" said Troma. Two of the Petrans walked forward, one placing a device on that lifted the Death Casket into the air. "You will accompany us" said Troma to the Doctor. "If you try to escape…" "…the earth girl dies, I get it" said Norine.

However as they left the bunker a cry of "Exterminate!" was heard. Two blasts shot out, killing the Petrans carrying the Casket. They both fell backwards, dropping the casket to the ground. "Take cover! Neutralise them!" cried Troma diving behind a tree, a blast narrowly missing her. "Down!" cried the Doctor, moving behind the Casket with Norine. "Do not fire on the Casket!" said the Commander. "It must remain undamaged!" A blast struck its eyestalk, blasting its head open. In revenge for this, three Daleks concentrated fire on a tree, blasting dead the Petran who had done so. "The Doctor is present!" cried one of the Daleks. "He must be exterminated!" Another Dalek was blasted apart. However the Petrans were being thinned down. Troma pulled something out and hurled it at the Daleks. There was a powerful explosion, blasting them all apart. "Doctor…" began Norine. "Just a mo" said the Doctor, who was doing something to the tube at the side. He pulled it off. "Run" he said quietly. He and Norine began to move away, trying not to be noticed. The Petrans and remaining 2 Daleks were too engrossed in the fight to notice.

"You will be exterminated!" cried a Dalek which had been hiding nearby. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "This has been transmitting a signal for the past minute" he said. "Soooo soon…" There was a clucking nearby and something burst out of the trees. It was… "A Tree Dragon!" cried Norine. "I don't remember them being…Great name!" said the Doctor. Another Tree Dragon jumped from a tall tree. "Exterminate!" cried the Dalek, firing at the first Tree Dragon. "Run!" cried the Doctor, doing so with Norine. "Halt!" cried the Dalek. "Or you will be…" The other Tree Dragon attacked it from behind. "Stop! Stop!" said the Dalek, as the Dragon tore its eyestalk up. "Alert! Vision is impaired!" it squawked. "Alert!"

The Doctor and Norine burst out of the forest. "Get back to the TARDIS" said the Doctor. "I need to find out more about the Petrans." "Why do I have to go back?" said Norine. "I need to find out more about this Death Casket" said the Doctor. "But, you took that tube…" "DNA-Scanner" said the Doctor. "But both races are advanced enough to still learn a lot from that device. And nobody should have that device!" "I'm sure it could help…" "Really, get back to the TARDIS" said the Doctor. "I don't want to lose anybody else to the Daleks." "Alright" said Norine. "I'll go then." She began walking back to the TARDIS when she heard someone walking behind her. "Doctor?" she said, turning around and adopting a combat stance. She heard running moving round and then behind her. She turned and saw Troma moving at her with incredible speed. She began running back and opened her mouth to cry out. But her throat was seized with crushing force and her arm held in a painful lock. She struggled to stay conscious, but the gun was pointed at her and fired.

The Doctor moved towards the Petran ship slowly. He had to be careful; knowing that if the Petrans knew he was here they would do whatever it took to get him. As the Doctor saw the ship in the distance he saw a satellite turning round and heard a whirring sound. "A scanner" he said. He smiled. "Time for a bit of sonic." He spun round, using his sonic screwdriver to interfere with the scanner. The door of the ship opened, causing the Doctor to dive down, though he remained watching the ship. Out came Troma, dragging along Norine, who had metal clamps round her wrists, ankles, and mouth. "Doctor, I know you can hear me!" said the Petran Captain. She pointed her gun at Norine's head while Norine glared defiantly at her. "You have 10 micro-spans to give yourself up" said Troma. "Or the human dies." She began counting. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…" "Alright! Alright! I'm here!" said the Doctor, bursting out of hiding and running towards the two females. "You got me." He looked at Norine. "Release her!" "You are in no position to make demands" said Troma. "But I will free her. Though she shall remain on the ship."

They were soon all on the ship. "Place the component back in the device" said Troma. The Doctor began to do so. "You seem to be neglecting something" said the Doctor. "How you going to get a Dalek for this device?" said Norine mockingly to Troma, who smiled. "We can soon capture a Dalek."

There was a bang and the ship shook. "What is that?" cried Troma at a technician. "A Dalek ship" said the Technician. "We need to take off." There was an even greater explosion, shaking the ship. "We cannot take off!" said the Technician. "Then fight!" cried Troma. "And be ready to destroy the Death Casket to prevent it being seized by the Daleks! Attach explosives to it!" A Petran grabbed a similar bomb to the one Troma had used against the Daleks earlier and attached it to the Casket.

Outside a Dalek Saucer flew around the Petran ship, sending down a hail of energy. The Dalek Platoon Commander ranted out orders. "Concentrate fire on their power supply! Prevent them taking off! It is of maximum importance not to damage the Casket!"

"Perhaps we can escape" whispered Norine as the Petrans tried to fight back. "But the Daleks would exterminate us" said the Doctor. "Well, use the Casket!" said Norine. "From the sound of it they won"t fire on that!" "Yes!" said the Doctor, running over to the device, Norine following. He tested the weight of the Casket, which still had the anti-gravity clamps on. "When I say run, run out of the door with the casket" whispered the Doctor. He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the door and pressed the button. It opened. "RUN!" yelled the Doctor. The firing meant it took a moment for the Petrans to realise what was happening. Even then they were uncertain of whether to shoot, due to being told not to kill the Doctor and the bombs placed on the Casket.

On the Dalek ship the Commander surveyed the battle below. It knew how important getting the Casket was. The Supreme Strategist of the fleet had taken personal command of this operation. The war over the Picrogu Galaxy had meant the Daleks had to halt expansion elsewhere. It was estimated they were highly probable to win if continuing at current capacity and the war was turning into one of attrition, both sides near-equally matched, but the Daleks having more resources. However they had found out enough about the Casket of Death to know it could turn the tide of the war. "Alert! The Doctor and his companion have been sighted with the Casket!" said a Dalek. The Commander surveyed the two. It considered launching an attack on them, within a few rels the Doctor, the most dangerous Predator of Daleks, could be exterminated. But in the process the casket would likely be destroyed, which would likely greatly lengthen the war with the Petrans. The Commander made its decision. "Do not attack directly! Section 3 will move down and secure the Casket!"

But as the Dalek was distracted a powerful blast from the Petran cannons struck the ship. It teetered in the air before crashing to the ground. "Into the forest!" said the Doctor, running with Norine as Petrans moved out of their ship. The Petrans were halted by the surviving Daleks, both sides fighting rather than getting the Casket. For the next few minutes the Doctor and Norine ran to the forest. "We might just be able to escape them!" said the Doctor. "That's the trouble with Daleks. Too concerned with extermination…" A loud rushing sound was heard over them and a shadow fell over the area. The Doctor and Norine looked up to see a huge saucer-shaped spaceship, much larger than the Dalek Platoon Carrier. 'NO! NO!' cried the Doctor as a terrible voice boomed from the Saucer. "Doctor! This is the Supreme Strategist of the fleet! You will surrender the Death Casket immediately!" From the Saucer tens of Daleks began to descend, like a murder of crows swooping down to feed on a battlefield. The Doctor looked at Norine sadly as they ran into the forest. "This doesn't look good" he said. "Can't you just use the Casket against them?" said Norine. The Doctor stopped abruptly and smiled. "I think I can!"

On the ship the Supreme Strategist of the fleet relayed an order. "Send the rest of the Legion towards this world!" They had intercepted a message from the Petran ship, and knew that soon a Petran Squadron would be at this world to seize the Death Casket. They must be ready to repel the Petrans. Another thought occurred to the Strategist. "Capture Petrans alive! We must test the Death Casket!"

As the Doctor and Norine moved through the forest they heard a "Halt!" They turned and saw about 10 Daleks pointing their weapons at them. "You are our prisoners! Do not move!" said the Dalek Section Commander. "Don't come any closer or I'll blow the Casket up!" said the Doctor, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and waving it at the bomb on the Casket. "You will leave the forest!" "There's enough room in here for us both…" began the Doctor. "Silence!" screamed the Dalek. "Leave the forest."

As they moved out from among the thick trees they looked up and saw a Red Dalek lowering itself towards them, followed by over 20 Daleks. "Do not defy us or you will be exterminated!" it snarled. "You will also be exterminated!" said the Red Dalek. "But so will your precious Casket. And I'm not letting you get your grubby suckers on that!" said the Doctor. The Daleks moved away, but still kept their guns trained on the Doctor. "You cannot escape! Soon the rest of the Legion will be here! We will take the Casket and the Petrans will be…" "…Exterminated!" said the Doctor with it simultaneously. "Yes, but I still have the Casket" said the Doctor. "We will enable you to return to your craft if you allow us the Casket" said the Red Dalek. "A machine designed especially for genocide. The perfect Christmas present for a Dalek" said the Doctor. "Alright Daleks. I'll take you up on your offer. Bring my TARDIS over here." The Red Dalek swivelled round. "Bring the TARDIS here!" 5 Daleks swooped away. "Doctor, you can't be helping these Monsters!" said Norine. She picked up a stone and threw it at the Red Dalek, more out of rage then at hoping to do any damage. "Don't shoot!" cried the Doctor urgently, waving his sonic screwdriver at the Casket again. The Red Dalek glared at Norine but didn't shoot.

The TARDIS was soon brought back and lowered to the ground a few metres from the Doctor. "You will enter the TARDIS and leave the Casket. We will exterminate the Petrans!" said the Red Dalek. "You don't think I've got through centuries of travel by trusting the likes of you?" said the Doctor. "Move away or your Casket will be in pieces!" "We are not letting you take the Casket!" said the Red Dalek. The Doctor knew he couldn't let the Daleks anywhere near his TARDIS. There were many races who would sacrifice worlds for access to the TARDIS and the Daleks were no exception. "Only one Dalek!" he said. "Or is one of the master race of the Universe too weak to take one little Casket?" "One Dalek is capable of exterminating all!" said the Red Dalek. It turned towards one of the Daleks who had taken the TARDIS over. "You will remain here and take what is necessary!" said the Red Dalek. "The rest of us will retreat!" "I obey!" said the Dalek, dropping to the ground while the other Daleks moved away.

The Doctor began to move the Casket towards the TARDIS, the Dalek following. "You will open the TARDIS!" it said. "Doctor, you said yourself you can't trust the Daleks!" said Norine. "I know that better then you!" said the Doctor, as he tinkered with the Casket. "What are you doing?" said the Dalek. "This is just like that Rutan weapon…" muttered the Doctor. "YOU WILL STOP OR BE EXTERMINATED!" said the Dalek. "If anybody is going to be exterminated it won't be ME!" cried the Doctor, suddenly pressing a switch on the Casket. A beam of bright energy shot out and struck the Dalek. "Movement impaired!" cried the Dalek. "I cannot move!" "Doctor! More Daleks!" cried Norine. The Daleks were again moving at them. "Just a moment…NOW!" cried the Doctor, activating the casket with his sonic screwdriver.

From the Casket burst a wave of light, illuminating the area. The Daleks in the air dropped like stones, suddenly changing from their status as birds of prey in a second. They crashed to their ground like hideous hail. The wave continued to spread out, moving all over the planet. The huge Saucer, hundreds of metres in the air, was hit by the terrible genocide wave. Every Dalek on the world was destroyed, down to a cellular level, before the other Daleks had reached the ground. The Doctor smiled. "Never underestimate the Doctor" he told Norine. "It can be very bad for your health." "How did you get it to work so quickly?" said Norine. "The Casket was nearly finished!" said the Doctor. "Just needed the creature it was supposed to kill."

"Doctor, didn't they say the rest of the Legion…" began Norine. "Of course!" said the Doctor. "Well, I think we know what to do about that!" "What are you doing?" said Norine. "You will release me or will be exterminated!" said the Dalek, still held by the ray from the Casket. "Just getting ready to set the Casket off again" said the Doctor. "That whole Legion will be blasted apart." He smiled. "A machine that specifically kills Daleks. A lot of people would love something like this." "Are you going to give it to the Petrans?" said Norine. "I may not like Daleks but I'm not letting the Petrans have this either!" said the Doctor. "But with it I will put quite a dent in the Dalek forces!" "The Daleks will still control this Galaxy!" said the Dalek. "That could happen" said the Doctor. "But if you're here then less of you will be elsewhere. You don't seem like the sorts to give up to the Petrans. And the end of a Legion should lengthen this war." The Dalek began to shudder. "Self-destruct activated!" it said. "NO!" cried the Doctor. "You're not getting away…" But the Dalek continued to shake. "Back to the TARDIS!" yelled the Doctor to Norine. "Soon more Daleks will be here." "What about the Death Casket?" said Norine as they got to the TARDIS. "It will be wrecked in the explosion from that Dalek!" said the Doctor as he opened the door. "I'd say destroying over 2000 Daleks is a good day's work anyway."

As they entered the TARDIS there was a loud bang behind them. They ducked down as pieces of machinery flew about, and then looked back at the mess of Dalekanium and machinery from the Dalek and Casket. The Doctor and Norine stepped out and the Doctor scanned with his sonic screwdriver. "Completely destroyed!" he said. "Nobody should have the power of that Casket." There was a whirring sound overhead and looking up they saw several Dalek ships drifting down. "Time we were off," said the Doctor. They rushed back into the TARDIS, which had soon dematerialised and was again spinning through the vortex.


End file.
